John McCain and Sarah Palin support our Right to Keep and Bear Arms, while Barack Obama and Joe Biden would eliminate our freedoms.

By Chris W. Cox
NRA-ILA
Executive Director

In this year's presidential election, some of the watchwords have been "experience" and "change." While the Obama-Biden ticket has worked to change gun owners' rights for the worse, the McCain-Palin ticket couples John McCain's experience with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's new energy and lifelong support of Alaska's hunting heritage.

Sen. McCain's record on gun owners' issues is not perfect--few lawmakers' records are--but the contrast between McCain and both of his opponents couldn't be greater.

Sen. McCain, unlike Barack Obama, has consistently opposed sweeping gun bans. In fact, McCain voted against the Clinton gun and magazine ban when it first passed the Senate in 1993. And he voted against it again in 2004 when Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., sought to extend it just six months before its scheduled expiration. This was nothing new for McCain, who voted against similar provisions three times in 1990.

Nor does Sen. McCain share Obama's enthusiasm for ammunition bans. Indeed, while Obama voted for the 2005 amendment by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., that would have banned most hunting and target rifle ammunition as "armor-piercing" ammunition, Sen. McCain voted against it--not just in 2005, but also in 2004 when Obama was not yet in the Senate.

Also unlike Obama, McCain has opposed reckless lawsuits aimed squarely at the survival of the firearm industry. On the Senate floor in 2004 and 2005, he voted for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which has ended many of these suits. Just as important, he voted against a host of killer amendments designed to gut critical protections under this new law.

Sen. McCain has also opposed federal waiting periods for gun sales--voting against the Brady waiting period bills in 1991 and 1993. On a related issue, McCain also supported gun owners' privacy, voting for the 1998 amendment by Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., which for the past 10 years has banned the Federal Bureau of Investigation from keeping long-term records of lawful gun purchases through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Participants in the Civilian Marksmanship Program also found an ally in Sen. McCain when he voted against a 1996 amendment by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., which would have blocked the transfer of surplus military rifles and ammunition to the newly privatized program. Three years earlier, McCain voted against another proposal that would have eliminated the program entirely.

Sen. McCain has also opposed other anti-gun initiatives.

For example, Sen. McCain--an ardent opponent of wasteful spending--voted to defeat a 2001 amendment by anti-gun leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., which would have allowed housing authorities and big-city police departments to squander federal anti-drug money on gun turn-in programs. Criminal justice experts have rejected these programs for years.

Sen. McCain also voted against Schumer's proposed 1999 ban on advertising firearms on the Internet--a measure that would have stuck many serious shooters and gun collectors in what now seems like the Stone Age.

John McCain's pro-Second Amendment record predates his years in the Senate. Though often overlooked by the pundits, McCain served in the U.S. House from 1983 to 1987. During that time, McCain had a perfect record of votes in support of the most sweeping federal gun law reform ever--the Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986.

Sen. McCain has had some differences with the NRA in the past. First, he supported restrictive legislation on gun shows. Second, as part of his support for reform in Washington, he sponsored the 2002 campaign-finance law that imposes restrictions on broadcast advertising by groups such as NRA.

But with an overall record as solid as McCain's, it's no surprise that he won't endorse the radical ideas Obama has supported--such as banning all handguns or semi-autos and allowing local prosecution of people who use handguns for self-defense in their own homes. Nor is Arizona nearly as fertile ground as Chicago for institutions like the Joyce Foundation, which during Obama's years as a board member poured millions of dollars into dozens of radical anti-gun groups and projects.

In addition, John McCain's record shows his integrity. When he's taken a controversial position, he hasn't tried to backpedal and blame others--unlike Obama, who (as scholar and commentator John R. Lott Jr. points out) has a long history of trying to disown his extremist positions and point fingers at his staff.

In short, gun owners and hunters have a clear choice this election. It's no stretch to say that Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in U.S. history. Worse than Bill Clinton. Worse than would-be presidents Al Gore or John Kerry. Both by comparison and based on a fair look at his voting record, John McCain--who has sacrificed so much in service to this country--and Sarah Palin are the clear choice for gun owners.